How much are you guys spending on restoration?

[Gordz32]

Originally Posted by ironworks

I think these topics are loaded questions, That cannot be answered on a level playing field. Or the guy with 10 billion dollars into his car, becomes the no talent jack ass that everyone says they never want to be like.

So here is my take, The worst thing you can ever do is find out what true quality and craftsmenship is. Although it is great and fabulous, Sub par products become junk. The more detail oriented you are the more things have to be right. I remember when I could go to a local car show and be absolutely excited about just seeing custom cars. Now I go and can spot misaligned doors from 10 miles away and I constantly say things like that car is nice but. I don't go out there to knit pick everybody stuff, but the flaws just stick out more as my eyes more and more trained.

Now before I get slung up on the cross and everyone thinks I'm an snob over other peoples cars. Let me give you and example. So lets say I'm raised in a home where my mom cooks dinner every night, and for the first time when I'm say 15 I eat my first meal out side the house and it is the most amazing food. For 15 years I have though I knew what good food was, sure I had never seen or eaten anybody elses food, but the food mom cooked was good, I thought. Well I eat this first meal and I go back home and eat a meal cooked by mom again and all I notice is what I'm not getting in the food I knew and thought was so good for all those years.

Cars are the same way, once you see good Chrome work up close, Your screwed, once you see a straight black car, your screwed. Once you feel true Horsepower or torque, your screwed. Why do you think you see so many young kids driving hondas with not yet painted barely hanging on ground effects and they think they are "IT" cuz either they have no clue or don't care. Well you not a true car guy unless you care.

So to answer your question, you can spend as little as you want or as much as your pocket book will bear. There is no preset spending guide line. Some guys spend more money on the engine then others spend on a painted and one car that they think rules the streets.

Can you build a bad ass 69 camaro for 2000 bucks, I suppose

Can you build a bad ass 69 camaro for 2 million, I would hope so.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Ok 2 cents is over.

Couldn't have put it any better. Well Said

[ironworks]

Originally Posted by rogue

I get what your saying, but every car has a pile of receipts. Why people bounce around the issue rather than just stating it is beyond me...

I'd LOVE to know what it takes to build a car like f-bomb or penny. I'd LOVE to know what it took to build Mule. I think most people would. All these cars eventually end up for sale eventually, so I really don't see the harm in stating how much the pile of receipts is worth.

We're not the owners, just the caretakers.

The thing is I don't think any of those cars were built in that consideration. All there of thse cars were built with different agendas and by different pocket books. The receipts don't really matter any ways. A car is only worth what 2 people are willing to pay. The best way to devalue a car is to put it up for sale offically. If a guy walks up and has to have it he has to come up with enough to convince you to sell it. If you put it up for sale, you figure out a price you might be willing to get, Some guys will only sell it for what they have in it, most lose money. F-bomb and Bad Penny were both built by magazine editors and I'm sure the out of pocket money was not even close to what a regualr joe would pay. The mule probably has more money under the hood then any other single item.

All 3 are awesome cars but they take are not heavy fabrication cars, when you get into that realm it is a whole other story.

Rodger

[Vegas69]

Nice Rodger....that whole Mom's cookin really hit's home. LOL Here is my two cents on the whole deal. Since I'm on the downslope of building my first big PT build. I really think there is a point where it's just to damn nice. Do you want to be able to actually drive the car, race the car, and maybe even walk into Lowes for some hardware? Or do you want a car where you are afraid to drive it and live for car shows and SEMA. At the end of the day, it's about the experience behind the wheel for me. How damn good can I make my car ride, handle, and run. My car is damn straight and pretty detailed. It's also getting more dialed in by the minute. I'm happy to take it out and beat the crap out of it anywhere. If it gets a nick or scratch I'll just refresh it later. I'd rather have a good time than worry about what may happen. I have six figures in my car and I'm not afraid to say it. Any of these higher end builds are all over six figures. Penny is probably the only one that isn't due to the fringe benefits of the business....

[Ummgawa]

Well put Vegas69.

I have always beat the tar out of the cars I have built and gotten the "what if it tears up" speech from numerous other "Car Guys". It's funny almost tragic, they think if I burn up a clutch doing burn outs, wear the tires out or get a nick in the paint that it somehow detracts form the car itself. I have a few car dudes I know that will trailer a car ten miles away from home, park in the Wal Mart and drive a half a block to a car show just to give the impression that they drove it to the show. hardy har har.

To each his own. As for me and my house, we will drive em.

[rogue]

Originally Posted by Vegas69

Nice Rodger....that whole Mom's cookin really hit's home. LOL Here is my two cents on the whole deal. Since I'm on the downslope of building my first big PT build. I really think there is a point where it's just to damn nice. Do you want to be able to actually drive the car, race the car, and maybe even walk into Lowes for some hardware? Or do you want a car where you are afraid to drive it and live for car shows and SEMA. At the end of the day, it's about the experience behind the wheel for me. How damn good can I make my car ride, handle, and run. My car is damn straight and pretty detailed. It's also getting more dialed in by the minute. I'm happy to take it out and beat the crap out of it anywhere. If it gets a nick or scratch I'll just refresh it later. I'd rather have a good time than worry about what may happen. I have six figures in my car and I'm not afraid to say it. Any of these higher end builds are all over six figures. Penny is probably the only one that isn't due to the fringe benefits of the business....

Well put and you have one my favorite cars on here. I use it as inspiration often. I think we're in the BBC minority around here.

[70rs]

I have to agree with Rodger. Moms home cooking isn't always what it seems. And with Todd. It's about the experience.
For me, this is my first full build. By "full build" I mean total tear down and start over. I will use the stock sub frame and there won't be much if any body mods. Very little custom fabrication(only where needed). I am building the car to fit my needs and to be DRIVEN HARD.
My budget is pretty light. If I had to compare it to Payback, Mule, Penny or any of the incredible cars here, mine won't hold a candle to them. BUT, it's my car built for me, by me on my budget. It will look good. It will handle good. It will also stop good and have a truck load of power. (special thanks to all the help on the BBC questions guys. We are the minority but we can smile a little bigger when we stomp the peddal).

I guess most people here are not giving exact numbers for a few different reasons. Privacy being one. Another is that the price to build one varies so much from car to car so while you have some way into the six figure range, there are just as many well under that.

I have a budget of 45,000 that I will allow myself to spend on this project. I am sure I will lose money if I sell it someday. It is what it is. For me it's about the car AND the therapy doing the build. Not so much the price tag.

I have to think that with good planning and self control I can build a damn nice car that I will be proud to run anytime, anywhere. I won't be affraid to park it at Home Depot but also won't feel affraid to park next to a 100k+ car at a show or beat the crap out of it on the track.
Just my .02. Thanks.

[camaro2nv]

This is something I dont like to think about. I started with a budget of 25k. Ive already passed that up and see no real end in sight. I came from building modern cars. If you want to loose money build one of those. Yeah odds are my build will be right around 50k. But Its nice to know the car can sit while I save for the next part on the list and not loose money. If anything it will go up.

[camaro2nv]

Originally Posted by ironworks

I think these topics are loaded questions, That cannot be answered on a level playing field. Or the guy with 10 billion dollars into his car, becomes the no talent jack ass that everyone says they never want to be like.

So here is my take, The worst thing you can ever do is find out what true quality and craftsmenship is. Although it is great and fabulous, Sub par products become junk. The more detail oriented you are the more things have to be right. I remember when I could go to a local car show and be absolutely excited about just seeing custom cars. Now I go and can spot misaligned doors from 10 miles away and I constantly say things like that car is nice but. I don't go out there to knit pick everybody stuff, but the flaws just stick out more as my eyes more and more trained.

Now before I get slung up on the cross and everyone thinks I'm an snob over other peoples cars. Let me give you and example. So lets say I'm raised in a home where my mom cooks dinner every night, and for the first time when I'm say 15 I eat my first meal out side the house and it is the most amazing food. For 15 years I have though I knew what good food was, sure I had never seen or eaten anybody elses food, but the food mom cooked was good, I thought. Well I eat this first meal and I go back home and eat a meal cooked by mom again and all I notice is what I'm not getting in the food I knew and thought was so good for all those years.

Cars are the same way, once you see good Chrome work up close, Your screwed, once you see a straight black car, your screwed. Once you feel true Horsepower or torque, your screwed. Why do you think you see so many young kids driving hondas with not yet painted barely hanging on ground effects and they think they are "IT" cuz either they have no clue or don't care. Well you not a true car guy unless you care.

So to answer your question, you can spend as little as you want or as much as your pocket book will bear. There is no preset spending guide line. Some guys spend more money on the engine then others spend on a painted and one car that they think rules the streets.

Can you build a bad ass 69 camaro for 2000 bucks, I suppose

Can you build a bad ass 69 camaro for 2 million, I would hope so.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Ok 2 cents is over.

Man this is why I look forward to reading your posts on this site. This is the TRUTH!!! If I had the money and I didnt want to challenge myself you would be building my car.

[mfain]

I am 34 years into a project Corvette -- bought it as a $1300 parts car in 1975. I am on the 4th suspension, 3rd drivetrain, etc. My problem is that technology moves way faster than I do, so when I finish the "hot set-up", it is time to drag out the chainsaw and start over. I have thousands of dollars in "new-old parts" that never saw the road (or track), but have been removed to make room for a new modification. The good news is that it has been a labor of love, a superb engineering exercise, and a mind challenge. I have learned skills that I have applied across the full spectrum of life, and I have meet some really cool people along the way. I never kept receipts, and I couldn't (or wouldn't) guess how much money I have in it, but regardless of the cost, it has been worth it. Sometimes the value of a project car can't be measured in dollars.

Pappy

[Flash68]

Rodger, I like your posts. No messin around.

I know down to the dollar (or pretty damn close) what I have in my car for a few reasons. I have an agreed value insurance policy and I like to increase that number the more money I put into the car, which I have been doing gradually over the past 2.5 years.

Like most I started with a budget ($50k LOL) and blew past that a loooong way back. But mostly because I kept adding and adding things I guess I had to have... minitub, 4 link, leather interior, hood hinges, yada yada yada.... about the only damn thing I didn't step up on was an aftermarket sub, which I know I don't need.

And I do not want a great paint job - I wanted driver quality paint only so I won't be any more worried about where I drive or park this car than I already am. This sumbitch is built to drive.


BTW, did anyone notice this thread was revived after being dead for over a year?